How to Have an Accurate Shot When Pheasant Hunting

bird hunter in sunset
bird hunter in sunset

Never shot a pheasant before? Or do you consider yourself a novice hunter? Fear not– you can and you will prepare your shot for pheasant hunting. How can you do this, though?

Pheasant Shooting Tips

Well, with hunting pheasants you’re going to shoot a lot of shots and miss birds. That’s how it works. But with some practice, you’ll not miss– you’ll shoot down some birds when they explode out of their cover and you’re prepared to get ‘em. 

A great idea is this: “Pattern your shotgun.” Use a large cardboard box that you prop up somewhere outside to shoot at– and then draw a bead on the center of that box. Stand about 20 yards from the box and fire your gun at the center target. After several shots if the density is low (whereas the pellets seem spread far apart) this tells you that you might want to add an upland hunting choke for your gun. If you don’t want to do that, then at least experiment using different types of shells for target practice.

What’s even better than patterning your shotgun? Shooting at clay pigeons, because they’re moving targets just like real, live pheasants. Buy clay pigeons, a thrower and some target load shells meant to shoot ‘em. Ask a friend to sling clays for you and then practice shooting the moving clays. This can totally help you improve your accuracy as you learn the skill of leading a target on the move. Eventually you’ll be shooting at clays from different angles as you build your gun-eye coordination. 

For fun, you can visit an arcade and do some shooting games– video games can actually help you, somewhat, get used to shooting moving targets. 

Finally, you can also practice shooting by doing some dove hunting. Doves are smaller than pheasants but similar in nature– imagine them as “alive clay pigeons.” Work on becoming an efficient dove hunter and then graduate to pheasants.

If you’re looking to embark on an exciting pheasant hunting trip in Tennessee, learn about the benefits of booking with Meadow Brook Game Farm.

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